Does anyone know for a FACT what the difference is between different brands of the same type of primers - say Large Rifle? I always thought CCI were very hot primers, someone recently told me its exactly the otherway around! I would have thought that they would all conform to some standard!

http://www.accuratereloading.com/primer.html
check this out AR's primer test experiment?

I have a friend that I shoot competitions with that works for one of the bullet companies and their testing was pretty conclusive. The Winchester primers in Large rifle were the "hottest" so to speak. That being said I still used FGM primers for all of my ammo.

It will vary between cartridges & powders but there is a diff in primer spark from brand to brand. I would not call them interchangeable, especially w/ max loads. Some priemrs also show greater accuracy within a given ccartridge & load. My final test for accuracy is taking my best load & swapping primers out. Sometimes it improves accuracy, sometimes it does not.

Hot and Hotter are unrealistic terms for primer ignition .

Duration and ferocity of chemical matrix is perhaps a better explanation and visual acuity is paramount .

http://www.6mmbr.com/PrimerPix.html

Note the reach of burn on a couple of those , very beneficial to large cases magnums and Ball powders !.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc224/375:
Hot and Hotter are unrealistic terms for primer ignition .

Duration and ferocity of chemical matrix is perhaps a better explanation and visual acuity is paramount .

http://www.6mmbr.com/PrimerPix.html

Note the reach of burn on a couple of those , very beneficial to large cases magnums and Ball powders !.

UM, that test looks like it was conducted inside the house????

Good info but I think hot and hotter would work for us great unwashed. To spew a flame more than twice the distance in some cases would take a pretty hot mixture IMO,

Potato Patoto , Tomato Tomotto . I should have used the term Intensity rather than Ferocity .

Note the RWS (German) Large Rifle

Now compare Remington 9.5 Large Rifle with Federal 210m Large Rifle , What do you see ?.

White flame is more intense than a yellow flame ; sparklers are particles being blown away as

intensity of ignition pressure builds .

The illumination produced by the extremely hot gases which result

from the very rapid build-up of pressure and temperature when the priming mixture detonates.

This may or may not be of interest too some of you . However I've seen several members inquiring as

to primer substitutions ;

It's not in YOUR best interest to do that in most cases . A very well produced article in layman's

terms awaits you with the click on provided Link ; Enjoy

http://www.exteriorballistics....oadbasics/primer.cfm

The problem we have is that we don't know the industry standards nor the manufacturer's tolerances.

Given that primer composition is a chemical mix, who is to say that the test differences between brands are not just the differences between lots?

Not only can your load change from primer company to primer company, but your Point of Impact can change lot to lot. The important part of that is to shoot a match on the same batch of primers.

The only primer I can say is hotter than the rest is old Winchester. Now that they make magnum primers I don't know if standard primers are as hot as they used to be.

I don't know that there is an industry standard. Sort of "it gets the job done" with each deciding how much is enough.
I'm sure, even with the least intense brisance (spl), a powder charge would ignite but how much longer with it take for the full charge to burn and what and where would the pressure peak be.
I have not noticed that much difference when changing a standard primer for another make of standard primer but I can see where the pressure arc could be changed by the rapididy of the power burn which could lead to different harmonics and alter your accuracy nodes.
I have read somewhere that there is no difference between BR primers and standard primers except that the BR primers are made by the company's most experienced workers on their best machines.
I know in very limited "testing", I can change from say CCI BR SR primers to standard CCI SR primers without a loss of velocity nor accuracy. I will admit though that the BR primers give you a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that you're doing your part. Kinda like using a premium bullet to kill a 100# white tail.

quote:

Originally posted by Sam:
Not only can your load change from primer company to primer company, but your Point of Impact can change lot to lot. The important part of that is to shoot a match on the same batch of primers.

+1 - messing with primers has can be the difference between a good and GREAT group.

I like to use the Federal BR 205's in the PPC. Am picking up 20k tomorrow morning!! Will last me a while.

As I've posted in the past as to % differences relating too components I'll refrain from doing a total

number on that subject . Basically this is how it boils down ;

3% variation of powders from lot to lot 2% for primers is match Grade acceptance !. I Don't have a clue

as to what Standard is . As I once upon a time worked for Hercules powder company batching was held to

an average 3-5% control depending on powder burn rate . Faster burn rate tighter tolerances .

That's why I use 3% as an average .



Primer info was graciously offered as I received a special tour of Federal's facility's some years back .

I'll post targets and let you know as soon as I finish my testing of all the cases and you can judge for

yourselves as to which are better in regards to accuracy !.

All brands were prepped Identically including neck turning as I wanted apples for apples comparisons.

I decided on bulk bullets across the board as I'm doing # 4 calibers .223 ,7mm Rem Mag ,.308 ,30/06 .

A total of #1024 rounds in a Bolt and Semi Auto rifles for each caliber .

It's taking a lot longer than even I had anticipated !. 7 RM is nearly completed have all but 30/06

loaded . So what I know for sure is ,a minimum total of 5% exist for powders and primers on each

caliber . All loads are same lot of powder , primer and bullets ,so now only difference is in brand of

case !.